When Haru Was Here

June 10, 2024
When Vietnamese American Eric Ly, an aspiring filmmaker, met enigmatic Haru during his high school’s international club’s annual trip to Japan, they became fast friends, spending the day together but separating before they can share contact information. Fourteen months later, 19-year-old Eric is reeling following the death of his best friend and crush, Daniel. With his sister dropping out of college to go on tour with a band and his parents disengaged from his life, Eric feels abandoned. To cope with his grief, he takes refuge in imagined scenarios, until he’s unexpectedly reunited with Haru. It soon becomes clear to Eric, however, that he’s the only one who can see Haru, who accompanies Eric on his adventures around Chicago to help break the monotony and isolation of his life. But Eric’s new job at a theater box office and the opportunities it presents to interact with the world around him strains the boys’ relationship. Though some plot threads are wrapped up too neatly, Thao (You’ve Reached Sam) casts an intelligent look into the harm and benefits of one teen’s coping mechanisms in this sharply depicted exploration of grief and moving on. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency.

July 15, 2024
A grief-stricken Chicago teen finds solace in a meet-cute romance. After his best friend, Daniel, passes away, Eric finds his life completely uprooted. Instead of attending his first year of college, he fills his days working to avoid his grief, first at a catering company, then in the box office of a prestigious theater. Through frequent flashbacks, Eric's crush on Daniel plays out alongside their school trip to Japan, where he met the handsome Haru. The two spontaneously wandered together, attending a Star Festival commemorating forbidden lovers. Eric was devastated when he lost Haru's phone number. Back in the present day, after his sister, Jasmine, announces that she's leaving for Amsterdam, Eric spirals further. His only solace is Haru's magical reappearance. As Eric spends time with Haru, he slowly regains his interest in life and filming the world around him. The novel unfortunately requires an immense amount of suspension of disbelief from readers. While the film references and the themes of family and love are intriguing, Haru's presence detracts from the overarching exploration of grief, and the romance is meandering and difficult to believe in, although it does offer an intriguing commentary on the meet-cute trope. Fortunately, the major plot twist manages to be completely surprising without feeling random, and it brings Eric's character arc full circle. Eric is Vietnamese American; Daniel is Colombian and white, and Haru is Japanese. A genuinely shocking reveal isn't enough to save this book.(Romance. 14-18)

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August 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 Vietnamese American Eric is in an unrequited love relationship with his best friend, Daniel. One afternoon, when the two are in Tokyo on a class trip, Eric heads out on his own and meets a Japanese boy named Haru, and the two, attracted to each other, spend the afternoon together until Eric has to return to Daniel. Frustratingly, he and Haru are separated before they can swap contact information. Flash-forward 14 months: Daniel is dead, killed in an automobile accident. One day, while sitting in Daniel's favorite caf�, Eric is astonished when Haru shows up. Eric promises to show him Chicago, but before he can, Haru disappears. And so a pattern is established. Haru shows up out of the blue, but when Eric, now in love with him, looks away, the boy vanishes. When Eric finally asserts that Haru isn't real, the boy insists he is. But is he? Thao does a beautiful job of employing lightly magical elements in this occasionally moving but always captivating gay love story.

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September 1, 2024

Gr 10 Up-Thao is no stranger to writing about grief. His debut, You've Reached Sam, featured a 17-year-old coping with loss. The same can be said for this latest, in which Eric is reeling from the tragic death of his longtime best friend and unrequited love interest Daniel. However, in the summer before Daniel's passing, Eric finds himself in a meet-cute with Haru while on a school trip to Tokyo. Before Eric can get Haru's contact information they are separated, leaving Eric to always wonder what could have been. Flash forward to the following year and Eric, an aspiring filmmaker, is stuck in a rut feeling lost and abandoned after his sister moves away to college. That is until he runs into Haru in a caf� in Chicago. This novel is a coming-of-age tale that depicts grief and loss in an interesting way. At points the plot can feel directionless or a bit haphazard, but Eric's completed character arc, combined with a surprising twist, will delight readers who stick around to the end. Eric and his family are Vietnamese, Daniel is Colombian, and Haru is Japanese. VERDICT Recommended for fans of Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, WandaVision, or those who listen to Taylor Swift's "Invisible String" on repeat. Collections low on books about grief would benefit from adding this to their shelves.-Zach Basler

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